Best Video Doorbell Cameras of 2023

1. Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 - Best Overall

Editors Rating:

9.2 /10

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How We Review

Is it really a surprise that a Ring video doorbell is at the top of this list? Ring pioneered the evolution of video doorbells, so it’s no wonder that their doorbell cameras are ahead of the curve.

One of the most advanced video doorbells in existence is the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, which features a stunning 150-degree field of view both horizontally and vertically. With that, it’s able to offer a head-to-toe view without sacrificing its side peripheral vision. Essentially, there’s no place to hide. It also delivers clear day and night video, thanks to its 1536p HDR resolution and color night vision.

Here’s some more quick specs:

3D Motion Detection

Most video doorbells start recording only after the doorbell is pressed or motion is detected. Ring’s 3D motion detection improves on that by using radar technology to map out your front lawn and to set up thresholds that trigger Ring’s recording and alerts when crossed. As soon as someone gets within 10 feet of your front door, for instance, Ring can already start recording.

Bird’s Eye View Feature

The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 also has a birds-eye view feature to augment existing live streams of video recordings and provide additional insight. The aerial perspective provides more context to your recordings.

For instance, when a package arrived while we were testing the doorbell, the Ring app showed us our delivery man’s journey up the driveway, reflected as a dotted line on a map. These details can really come in handy if there is an intrusion because they will paint a clearer picture of what happened before the culprit gets all the way to our front door.

Alexa Greetings

A video doorbell that lets you speak to guests through your smartphone is useful, but one that greets guests for you is even better. Thanks to Ring’s close ties with Alexa, the Video Doorbell Pro 2 offers Alexa Greetings.

When someone rings your doorbell, Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant will greet them after a short delay. Alexa can either take a message or deliver instructions on where to leave packages. Unfortunately, those are the only two things Alexa can do for now, but they can be immensely useful in combating package theft.

To enable Alexa Greetings, you’ll need a Ring Protect plan, which is the same subscription for Ring’s cloud storage service starting at $3 per month.

2. Wyze Video Doorbell - Most Affordable Video Doorbell

Editors Rating:

8.7 /10

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How We Review

The new Wyze Video Doorbell is small, measuring just 3.25” x 1.5” .625”, but it doesn’t skimp on features. It has a built-in LED light for color night vision, downloadable videos, and a 3:4 aspect ratio, for instance.

It’s also one of the most affordable video doorbells, retailing for just $54.98.

Cost

At just under $55, the Wyze doorbell is one of the most affordable video doorbells on the market. However, unlike some other bargain doorbells we’ve tested, Wyze performed relatively well. We got free cloud storage of 12-second clips for 14 days, motion detection, and head-to-toe video recording. The paid subscription, Cam Plus, was an additional $1.99 per month and got us both person detection (as opposed to motion detection) and event fast-forwarding.

High-Quality Images

The Wyze doorbell may not be as fancy as the other doorbells on this list, but it more than meets our video quality standards. Its 1080p HD resolution impressed us, much like when we reviewed the Wyze security cameras. The color night vision, provided by its LED light, was also a nice touch, although we much better preferred using the infrared night vision.

The 3:4 aspect ratio was also noteworthy, as it gave us a full head-to-toe view of anyone standing in front of our door. The downside is that it loses some peripheral vision, so if you go with the Wyze doorbell, we recommend supplementing it with a Wyze camera on your porch. Fortunately, Wyze Cams are some of the most affordable security cameras in the market.

Continuous Power

Let’s face it: Recharging your video doorbell every six or so months is not fun. And since video doorbells play a vital role in home security, you wouldn’t want dead batteries to be the reason you lose critical video evidence in case of a break-in. With the Wyze Doorbell, which connects right to your existing doorbell setup, you wouldn’t have to worry about running out of juice. Yes, you might have to spend a few extra minutes setting up the doorbell’s wiring, but it’s set-and-forget once it’s there.

3. Nest Doorbell - Best for Google Assistant

Editors Rating:

9.0 /10

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How We Review

Google Nest is a smart home security powerhouse, and one of its greatest assets is the interoperability and interconnectivity of its products. If you use Google Nest products at home, then the best doorbell for you is the Google Nest Doorbell.

You have two options: a battery-powered Google Nest Doorbell or a hardwired version. Either way, your front door will have access to Google’s advanced facial recognition software, in addition to enjoying the smart home networking capabilities of Google Nest products.

Google Functionality

Our Nest Doorbell video doorbell worked great as a standalone device, but because it’s from Nest, it also worked as part of our larger Nest camera system, including, for instance, our Google Nest Hub smart display and our Google Nest Mini smart speaker. And because Nest is part of the Google family, it’s set up to work seamlessly with Google Assistant voice commands. All we had to tell our phone was “Google, what’s on our doorbell?” and the app popped open with streaming live video.

Facial Recognition

Nest may not have pioneered the invention of video doorbells, but it did pioneer the use of facial recognition in security cameras. The Nest Cam IQ was one of the earliest cameras to offer facial recognition, and since then, every Nest camera comes with the feature, including the Nest Doorbell.

Nest uses facial recognition not just to tag whoever’s at your front door, but to deliver insightful notifications. You can create custom alerts based on facial recognition. For instance, we set our Nest Doorbell to alert us when an unfamiliar person approaches our front door, but not when a household member walks in. For parents, it’s also possible to set up notifications when their children get home so they know if their kids are safe and sound.

The downside is that you need a Nest Aware subscription to enjoy facial recognition. Nest Aware is Nest’s cloud service, which also enables cloud recording. And since the doorbells don’t record video without Nest Aware, we strongly suggest getting a subscription. Your options are the Nest Aware for $6 per month or Nest Aware Plus for $12 per month.

Clear Day and Night Vision

We were impressed by the Nest doorbell’s video resolution of 1600p HD, above the industry standard. It also had a 160-degree field of view. But the video wasn’t just clear in the daytime. The Nest Doorbell’s infrared night vision uses 850 nm LED sensors allowing us to see whatever was happening, no matter what time it happened.

4. Arlo Video Doorbell - Best Smart Motion Detection

Editors Rating:

9.1 /10

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How We Review

Arlo Video Doorbells feature some powerful AI technology. For instance, the camera in these doorbells can tell the difference between your next door neighbor stopping by, that tabby cat that likes to lay on your porch, and the box of chocolates you ordered from Godiva. Of course, unlocking that technology requires a subscription to one of the company’s Arlo Secure plans. You can test out a plan for free, though, when you purchase a camera, and prices for subscriptions start at a very affordable $12.99 a month.

The Three Ps

The Arlo Doorbell has artificial intelligence that allows it to detect what we like to call the three Ps: people, pets, and packages. Thus, real-time alerts didn’t just let us know the camera had detected movement but also identified exactly what kind of movement it detected. That’s infinitely better than getting random alerts throughout the day and having to pull up footage to find out what’s going on at home. Plus, we always knew when a package had arrived, so we could take measures to outwit porch pirates, like having our neighbor store it until we got home.

Free Arlo Secure Trial

Of course, to get access to Arlo’s AI technology, you’ll have to purchase a subscription to Arlo Secure, the company’s monitoring service. Luckily, Arlo offers a free three-month trial of Secure with the purchase of a Video Doorbell. In addition to artificial intelligence functions, Arlo Secure gives you video resolution up to 4K, theft replacement coverage, and 30 days worth of cloud storage. Once the three months are up, you have to purchase a plan, but the basic subscription costs just $12.99 per month. Or you can upgrade to the Safe and Secure Pro plan and get full 24/7 professional monitoring for $24.99 a month.

Do It Yourself, Even With the Wired Model

Arlo’s cheapest video doorbell is a wired model. The company also has a wireless version, but it costs $50.00 more. A lot of people prefer wireless doorbells because they don’t require any technical know-how to install. The thing is, Arlo’s wired model is actually super simple to set up. Pop out your existing doorbell, twist a couple of wires together, and you’re done. Totally DIY in less the fifteen minutes (just be sure to follow their instructions). Arlo even includes easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions in the app. Plus, with the wired version, you never have to worry about changing batteries.

5. Logitech Video Doorbell - Best Video Doorbell for Siri

Editors Rating:

8.4 /10

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How We Review

The Logitech Video Doorbell has it all, nearly: great video quality, increased privacy, and a smooth app experience. If you’re an Apple loyalist like we are, you’ll want to add this to their collection.

Straightforward Installation Process

Though we had the option to have the Logitech Video Doorbell installed professionally for an additional $100, we went for the DIY option. First, we connected the doorbell’s powerline using a micro-USB cable and a 5V 2A AC adapter. Then, we paired the doorbell to our Wi-Fi network. Next, we attached the chime kit to our existing transformer and our door chime, snapped the doorbell onto its mounting plate, and voilá! We were cooking with gas.

Color Night Vision

When we looked at night footage from the Circle View, we were impressed with the detail captured. Infrared night vision is the norm, but sometimes that footage looks grainy and blurs out important details. The Circle View used an LED light at night, which illuminated our whole front porch and even parts of our driveway. The feature turned on automatically there was motion and shined a bright beam of light onto visitors. We got quality footage in color, even when the sun had set.

Specific Motion Detection

We were most impressed with the Circle View Doorbell’s advanced motion detection. We pulled our car into the driveway just as a stray cat darted through our yard and a branch fell out of our neighbor’s tree. The Circle View reacted quickly and accurately to the series of events. It could tell what was a vehicle, an animal, and an inanimate object. We saw the series of events mapped out on a scrolling timeline within the app. We thought the mapping feature was really neat, and understanding an event in such detail would definitely come in handy for something more serious, like a burglary.

6. Lorex Video Doorbell - Best Video Doorbell with Local Video Storage

Editors Rating:

7.5 /10

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How We Review

The Lorex Doorbell Camera is great for anyone who prefers a hardwired system that’s also completely DIY. Oh, and it also happens to be about half the price of most other video doorbells, costing just $129.99. That meant that we could secure our house without having to break the bank.

Low Price

A Lorex Video doorbell can be had for just $129.99, about half of what the more expensive examples on this list cost. It’s true that Lorex doesn’t come with some of the high-priced extras you might get elsewhere like cloud storage. But its 1080p HD video resolution matches the industry standard, and it offers a wide 160-degree field of vision. It also includes infrared night vision, two-way audio, and free local storage. That’s a heck of a lot of features to get for such a low price.

Sleek Design

The Lorex Video Doorbell is small and fairly unobtrusive, four inches by 1.7, and only one inch wide. That meant it didn’t give our front door a cluttered look. In fact, it didn’t look all that different from a traditional doorbell. The faceplate is a stylish black and silver, with rounded features within a rectangular casing. All-in-all, it told visitors we like our technology, but we also like it to blend well with our signature style.

Hardwired Setup

In general, we prefer hardwired video doorbell systems for one simple reason: no batteries required. Unfortunately, purchasing a wired system often means hiring a professional installer. Lorex, however, was completely DIY. We connected a few wires, attached the faceplate, and were done. It was hardwiring without the hassle!